The Broken Man
by Reddielover101
Summary: A fanfiction about Jack Rimmer after Izzie's death.
1. Chapter 1

"Izzie" Jack yelled but she was gone. He knew that. He cradled her lifeless body in his arms, burying his tear stained face hoping nobody would hear his muffled cries. The whole world was spinning now. As he raised his head he saw a crowd surrounding him. Although there were around about 20 people standing there he never had felt so alone. He felt a hand on his shoulder. He stood up. As soon as he did so the crowd devoured Izzie and he couldn't see her anymore. "No" he screamed. "Don't touch her, please don't."

"Jack calm down" said a kind voice. He knew that voice. That was Kim's voice. "Jack you have to calm down." she said soothingly. She led him away from the crowd. Kim looked him up and down. He was a mess: his face and shirt were dripping with blood, he was shivering all over, his hair was damp with sweat and his eyes were wide and scared. "Oh Jack" She wrapped her arms around him like a mother would to a crying baby. "Shh" she whispered rocking him as he cried in her arms. After a while she asked "do you want me to get Davina?"

"No" he sniffed. "not now, tell her to meet me at the hospital." he pointed to the ambulance that had just entered the school gates. "Jack are you sure..." but he had already started stumbling towards the ambulance. He stumbled a bit. Overwhelmed with guilt and worry. He couldn't see anymore. He wanted to cry but the tears wouldn't come out. He stopped… and then he fell.


	2. Chapter 2

"Jack…, Jack…, Jack…, Jack…" Jack woke up with a start. Izzie's words were still ringing in his head. His forehead was dripping with sweat and his cheeks were tear stained. He looked around, trying to register his surroundings. He looked to the side. There was Davina. She was staring lovingly into his eyes. She wiped the sweat from his forehead gently and adjusted his pillows. "Shh Jack, it was only a dream." She soothed. "W…w…where" was all Jack could croak. "You're in hospital darling" Davina whispered into his ear clutching onto his shaking hand. "W…what's w…wrong w…with m…m…m…me" Jack cried. He closed his eyes. He looked as vulnerable and small as a child. Davina didn't know what to do. She understood Jack was in a delicate frame of mind. The doctors said that he would need some time to get back to his normal self. She hated to see someone who she loved so much looking so vulnerable. She pulled him into a loving hug and gently pecked him on the cheek.

After a while she noticed he had fallen asleep in her arms. She lay him down and pulled the duvet over him. "Goodnight my darling Jack she said kissing him. She then left him knowing that he was dreaming about Izzie. That broke her heart

"Miss Shackleton!"

She turned. A middle aged doctor was standing behind her beckoning her over. She went over to him knowing it was about Jack. "Miss Shackleton I have some news on the progress of Mr Rimmer." Davina was worried. She was worried the minute she got the call that Jack was in hospital. She was even more worried when she heard why he was in hospital. "Mr Rimmer should be in here for another week or so and then he can go home." Davina looked at him confused. "But he is obviously severely traumatised from the experience. Is it safe for him to go home?" the doctor looked at her with no expression. "Mr Rimmer is going to be alright. I would suggest that he stays off work for a few months and sees a councillor but that's all you can really do." Davina shook her head in disbelief and walked back into Jacks room.


	3. Chapter 3

It had been 2 weeks since Izzie's death and Jack had returned home. However many times Jack reassured Davina that he was fine she knew inside he was dying. Jack had been to see many very expensive councillors but none of them seemed to help him.

He was sitting up in bed with her now. He was smiling. This was something he rarely did nowadays. She knew it was a fake smile by never the less she loved it when he did. "I am so lucky to have you" Jack told her gazing up into her eyes. She laughed and planted kisses all over his face. "And I, Mr Rimmer, am so lucky to have you." She told him between kisses. "I'm hungry now" he whined.

"Well what about breakfast in bed" Davina said trying not to laugh. Jack nodded smiling and snuggled back into the bed.

Davina was coming up the stairs with hers and Jacks breakfast. She knew something wasn't right. It was too quiet. Suddenly she heard a pitiful cry. She rushed into hers and Jacks room and found him curled into a ball crying his eyes out and shivering. "JACK" she exclaimed. He didn't look up he just wailed and wailed. Davina couldn't calm him. Then he dropped something. His mobile. Davina snatched it up and looked at it. Then her heart broke. It was a message from Tom. It said:

Jack,

It was your fault. I need you to know that. You will pay for what you did. I will make you pay!

No wonder Jack was a shivering wreck. She put her arm around the heaving body and lent her head onto him. After a while his breathing became slower and less rapid. He lifted his head. Davina cringed when she saw her face. His eyes were wide and they had a glint of terror in them. His chin was shaking and he was miming something. "No Izzie, no please no!" he stared up at her in complete despair. It wasn't your fault and Tom can't do anything to you." He shook his head. "It was my fault Davina, I could have phoned for an ambulance but I didn't… I couldn't" she looked at him sympathetically. "And Tom would have perfect right to do something to me, I basically murdered his fiancée" at that he broke into tears again. Davina knew there was nothing she could say to comfort him!


	4. Chapter 4

Jack really was a broken man. It was now about two months since Izzie's death and he was still not coping. He constantly had nightmares from which he always awoke terrified. Sometimes after nightmares he would not be able to sleep for days. He had been prescribed anti-depressants. They never worked though. Davina knew that and so did Jack. It didn't stop him from taking them though. He often got cross with Davina over the littlest of things. It was because he was stressed and Davina knew that but still she was worried about their relationship. Jack tried to be strong and hold back the tears when Davina was around and save them for when she was asleep or when he was alone in the house. The guilt from Izzie's death haunted him both day and night. Jack knew that he was in no fit state to run the school. He knew that he was in no fit state to work. However he loved his job and didn't want to lose that on top of everything else he had lost.

Today was the first day of term. Jack had woken up from another nightmare at 2:00 in the morning. He seized the bottle for his anti-depressants and ripped off the cap. He took 2 of them followed by a sip of water. After many attempts to get back to sleep he gave up and went downstairs trying not to wake Davina. At 6:45 Davina awoke. She looked around for Jack but he wasn't there. She knew what this meant but didn't want to think about it. She came downstairs to find Jack already dressed for work with a false smile planted on his face. "Morning" he said as she kissed him. "Did you get any sleep darling." She murmured. "A little." He replied. She took one look at his face and winced. He looked like he had aged overnight. "Are you going to be okay at that radio show?" She whispered making herself a tea. "Fine, fine…" his voice trailed off. She bit her lip. He was staring into space again. In a world of his own. In his own hell. "Well we better get going." She said rubbing his arched back. He bounced back into reality. "Oh yeah…" he said faintly. "It'll be alright." She reassured him. He nodded and gazed up into her eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry about all that happened and I need you to know that I love you and you're the point of my day." He said breathing deeply. "Things will get better Jack. You will be back to normal in no time and then maybe..." He gave her a stern look so she stopped.

Jack looked around him. He bit his lip. Trying to stop the tears from coming out. The playground, the place where Izzie died. The place where Izzie died because of him. He felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to face Davina. "I can't be here." He murmured. "It's okay Jack I am going to help you every step of the way." She pulled him into a loving hug. He took several deep breaths and walked up to the school. Davina followed knowing it was going to be a tough day… a very tough day.


End file.
